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ST-Ericsson, a 50/50 joint venture by STMicroelectronics and Ericsson, this morning announced its latest HSDPA platform built on the Linux OS. Dubbed U6715, the platform aims to aid handset manufacturers produce smartphones powered by Android – or other Linux-based operating systems – with a wholesale price of less than €100 ($138).

ST-Ericsson says it anticipates manufacturers to launch the first commercial products based on its U6715 chip platform in the first half of 2010.

The company claims the platform can support all the essentials of the smartphone experience, including navigation, web browsing, video streaming, email, WiFi, a five megapixel camera, a touch screen and more. A multimedia engine integrated into the hardware architecture of the U6715 frees most of the platform’s microprocessor subsystem to run applications.

At the same time, ST-Ericsson says the U6715 platform allows manufacturers to significantly drive down the cost of device production and thus make highly capable smartphones less of a niche play and more of a mass-market product.

The U6715 platform comes with an HSPA modem capable of delivering downlink speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, and the company also boasts about its power efficiency. Equipped with a 1000mA battery, smartphones based on the platform are said to be capable of playing music for up to 40 hours and provide a talk time of up to 7 hours on a 3G network on a single battery charge.

OverviewEricsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services.
The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions …

OverviewSTMicroelectronics N.V. is an independent semiconductor company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets a range of semiconductor products used in a variety of microelectronic applications, including automotive products, computer peripherals, telecommunications systems, consumer products, industrial automation and control systems. Its segments include Automotive, Consumer, Computer and Communication …